


Had we but world enough and time

by Weisse_Rose



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Everybody Lives, Everything is Beautiful and Nothing Hurts, F/M, Fix-It, Force Bond (Star Wars), Hurt/Comfort, Movie: Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Post-Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-04
Updated: 2020-03-04
Packaged: 2021-02-28 06:28:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 938
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22999210
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Weisse_Rose/pseuds/Weisse_Rose
Summary: An alternate ending to The Rise of Skywalker.
Relationships: Kylo Ren/Rey, Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 2
Kudos: 49





	Had we but world enough and time

Ben smiled, feeling weightless. Which is why he was faintly surprised when he hit the ground. He had the irrational thought that he should be going up instead of down.

He wanted to apologise to Rey, but found himself unable to make a sound. Everybody always left her behind, her parents, his uncle, his mother. He didn't want to be one of them. One of the people who left her to fend for herself. But the choice was out of his hands. It occurred to him that there were other regrets he should be having at this moment, but he couldn't bring himself to care enough to conjure them up. All he could think about was his last sin, leaving her alone. Maybe it was for the best. He had never brought her anything but pain. She would live. That was all that mattered.

He felt the Force all around him, ready to wash him away. He heard Rey's voice as if from a great distance, yelling something he couldn't quite make out. She sounded panicky, and hurt, and angry, and he wished there was something he could do about it, some way to tell her it was alright, she was free now, free of him, free of Palpatine, free to be who she was always meant to be.

Everything went dark.

There was a sudden heat in his chest, and he gasped and coughed. He was filled with a warm sensation and the overpowering feeling of the Force within him. He knew this feeling. It was how he had felt when Rey healed him. He forced his eyes open.

_No. Rey. Stop. What are you doing?_

He found he couldn't force the words past his lips. He felt his strength returning, and at the same time felt her life force dimming, wavering. He sat up, and took her right hand, which had been placed flat on his stomach, and intertwined it with his right hand instead. He could feel the Force flowing back and forth between them like a tide, ebbing and flowing.

"Don't. Stop," he croaked, frowning at her. All she did in response was holding on to his hand even tighter.

"I won't let you die," she stated calmly, but there was an edge of panic to her voice.

He shook his head. "There is not enough for both of us. You have to take it." He tried to force the life to her through their bond, through his hand. She send it right back, leaning her forehead against his.

"No," she said. "We share. You and me. Together."

"Please," he begged her. "You deserve more. All of it. All the time in the world. To be happy. I'm not worth it. The things I've done. I'm a monster."

"Not to me," she said with conviction. She focussed her feelings at him through the bond. _Brave. Strong. Worthy._ He realised it was how she saw him now, and he shook his head vehemently. Those words had nothing to do with him.

"Please. I can't take this from you." He leaned back a little in order to meet her eyes. He tried to show her his determination. "I won't let you do this," he said in the most commanding tone he could muster.

Rey raised an eyebrow at him, some of the panic in her voice turning into wry amusement. "Good thing you're not calling the shots here." He felt her strength, and determination, and stubbornness, and he knew that he wouldn't win this argument. In what he presumed would set a precedent for the future, he yielded.

The Force flowed freely, joyously between them, until it settled into an equilibrium. Both of them gasped, staring at each other. A true dyad in the Force, no longer just two life forces bonded. There was only the Force, only one life between them. Both of them felt it with staggering clarity. If one of them died, the other would too. That was the price they would pay for this.

They were silent for a long time, adjusting to the feeling. It was similar to the bond they had shared, yet so much stronger, so much more powerful. Inseparable.

It was Rey who broke the silence first. "Well, this should at least make it easier to convince my friends not to kill you," she stated drily.

Ben made a startled laugh that quickly turned into a serious of coughs that send a stabbing pain through his chest and abs. He leaned forward, resting his head on Rey's shoulder. 

"Everything hurts," he said. The mutual healing had taken care of his life-threatening injuries, but that seemed to be the extend of it. He still felt sore all over, and he was certain he had at least a broken rib and Force knew what else.

"I know," Rey said. "I feel it." He felt _concern, comfort, affection_ from her, incredibly intense. He took a deep breath, trying to center himself and not get carried away by the strength of her affection for him.

"What now?" he asked.

"Let's get out of here," Rey suggested.

"Yeah, I don't think I can stand."

Rey nodded. "Then I guess we're staying here." She didn't sound like it mattered to her one bit where they were.

Ben leaned forward slightly, gently bringing their foreheads together, closing his eyes, revelling in the connection between them. 

"I- ".

_I love you._

In spite of everything they had been through, he still wasn't able to say it. She heard it anyway.

He couldn't see it, but he felt her break into a smile.

"I know," she said fondly.


End file.
